I just drove us to the shop and back (and around the estate). Go me :) I need some work on mirrors and on trusting that I'm seeing everything. I'm kind of slow because I'm afraid there's something there (like a bike or person) that I've overlooked. And there was a lot of, "Okay, I'm just going to go. Ahhhh." I'm such a girl. But I got us there and back safe, and got lunch for myself too. Yeay.
We got the matrix on blueray recently and have been watching them over the weekend. They are quite good movies. The first one is still so much fun to watch, and even the second one (last night) was a bit of action.
Not much else is going on - Royal Rumble is on tonight, so we're going to watch that. It would be really fun to watch John Cena (the ultimate good guy) turn bad (or heel, as they say). That's the only reason I'm watching. Does that make me evil? Because I want to see the good guy fall? I guess it's just a story element I really like to see unfold.
I don't have a whole lot of other news. Ooh - the thermometer in the car got to 26 yesterday. The one on the balcony got to 20. That's pretty cool (or hot, really).
29 January 2012
28 January 2012
Watch
After 11 years of perfect service, I finally let my watch go to watch-heaven. lordkilljoy's been trying to convince me to get a new one for some time, but there really isn't anything wrong with my old watch - it's just old, and a bit worn. The battery went a while back and I've been meaning to get it fixed. But lordkilljoy said to get a new one instead of fixing the old on, and I guess I agree with him. So, here's my new watch. It's so pretty: Momentum M1. Anyone who knows my old watch will also know that the new on is a lot like it. But if something works for you, why go looking for something different - comfort in the familiar and all that.
27 January 2012
Cooking Update
(And writing update - let's do that first. It's more exciting.) I went over all of Artificer in five days. Once I got through the first few chapters, I was mostly reading, though. I can't seem to help myself - I get so caught up in the story. I guess this is a good thing, but now I'm wondering is the end good enough. The whole book is so exciting, with huge things going on and then the end just seems to come around so fast. Not sure if I just read it too fast, though. And it is just the end of the first book - kind of leading in to the second book. Or maybe I need something to slow the pace right before the end, and then pick it back up again. Not sure.
Right - cooking.
I've still been mad making delicious things, I've just kind of lost the will to photograph / write about them. Highlights this week were rolledy tubes of pasta with a cheese filling inside (way to make food sound unappetising :self-depreciatory face: ). They were absolutely delicious - like a yummy rolled up lasagne. And they were lovely, despite me not having two and a half of the ingredients.
The other high point was the meat sung type thing I made last night. It was "type thing" because it didn't actually have any meat. I used quorn instead, but you wouldn't even know. It was so delicious. And I got to puff rice noodles. I used up all my oil doing it, though. But it turned out so lovely. I made a huge dish - like 15"x10" or something - and we ate almost the whole thing. Savagery, but it was so yummy. And to be fair, most of it was air in the puffedy thingys. Anyway. Pics:
Well, one pic. Nom nom nom.
Right - cooking.
I've still been mad making delicious things, I've just kind of lost the will to photograph / write about them. Highlights this week were rolledy tubes of pasta with a cheese filling inside (way to make food sound unappetising :self-depreciatory face: ). They were absolutely delicious - like a yummy rolled up lasagne. And they were lovely, despite me not having two and a half of the ingredients.
The other high point was the meat sung type thing I made last night. It was "type thing" because it didn't actually have any meat. I used quorn instead, but you wouldn't even know. It was so delicious. And I got to puff rice noodles. I used up all my oil doing it, though. But it turned out so lovely. I made a huge dish - like 15"x10" or something - and we ate almost the whole thing. Savagery, but it was so yummy. And to be fair, most of it was air in the puffedy thingys. Anyway. Pics:
Well, one pic. Nom nom nom.
23 January 2012
Today is a good day
I love when I make a list of things to do and I get everything done. I had a wonderfully productive day today - got some writing done, some wedding stuff, hung out with River, tidied, got dinner ready. I'm all go. I wish every day could be like this.
We're off to Raw (wrestling) tonight. Hence the productivity. It should be really good - I'm looking forward to it anyway, and I've only been half-watching wrestling for the last few weeks.
I have a new morning routine. It's mostly the same as the old one, but after I get in from walking River and have breakfast, before I do anything else, I write for an hour. Just one hour - not that long at all, and I'm getting loads done. Okay - I am still rewriting (so it's possible to get loads done in an hour) but it still feels good getting though a whole chapter in that little time. I'm back picking at the start of Artificer again and I really think I have it this time. This is absolute final draft for the start of the book. After this I have to make Azrynn more of a person, and that's it. Those are my last two problems with the book. Then it's off to query. Oh, em. No. Wait. It's not. Then it's on to book 2 until I get a work permit - then query book one.
I don't have much else to say.
We're off to Raw (wrestling) tonight. Hence the productivity. It should be really good - I'm looking forward to it anyway, and I've only been half-watching wrestling for the last few weeks.
I have a new morning routine. It's mostly the same as the old one, but after I get in from walking River and have breakfast, before I do anything else, I write for an hour. Just one hour - not that long at all, and I'm getting loads done. Okay - I am still rewriting (so it's possible to get loads done in an hour) but it still feels good getting though a whole chapter in that little time. I'm back picking at the start of Artificer again and I really think I have it this time. This is absolute final draft for the start of the book. After this I have to make Azrynn more of a person, and that's it. Those are my last two problems with the book. Then it's off to query. Oh, em. No. Wait. It's not. Then it's on to book 2 until I get a work permit - then query book one.
I don't have much else to say.
22 January 2012
(re)Learning to Drive
After almost 5 years, I went out driving today. We got our learning permits on Wednesday (a very happy, albeit nervous day) and today me and lordkilljoy went out driving in a car park. It was kinda scary, but kinda fun too. The straight bits were fun, going around corners was not so much fun.
We put up the hammock yesterday. It was a lovely day yesterday and we decided taking a nap out on the balcony was a wonderful idea. And it was. Even though it was a tiny bit cold. It was even colder today so we lay out there with sleeping bags. It was hard to stay awake it was so comfortable. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can lie out there in shorts and a t-shirt.
Us :)
I can't think of anything else to say. I'm sure there's loads, but I can't think of it right now. I'm off to play Star Wars.
We put up the hammock yesterday. It was a lovely day yesterday and we decided taking a nap out on the balcony was a wonderful idea. And it was. Even though it was a tiny bit cold. It was even colder today so we lay out there with sleeping bags. It was hard to stay awake it was so comfortable. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can lie out there in shorts and a t-shirt.
Us :)
I can't think of anything else to say. I'm sure there's loads, but I can't think of it right now. I'm off to play Star Wars.
14 January 2012
Oat biscuits
On a whim last night I decided to make something nice. Something cakey and chocolaty but not too rich. I would have made chocolate lava cakes, but I didn't have small enough pots to bake them in, so I settled on oat walnut chocolate chip cookies. It was incredible, from taking the flour out of the press to enjoying the first bite of melty, sweet, oaty, chocolaty biscuit took about half an hour. My mixer is amazing. You literally pour everything into it and 1 - 2 minutes later it's ready to go in the oven. If I'd had it over christmas I would have made chocolate chip cookies every day (okay, not really) but I do think they would have come out more like M&S cookies. Because the ones I made last night had an almost identical texture (to M&S ones).
Yummy (even if the first bite does seem excessively sweet - the oats and walnuts quickly balance that, though).
Ooh - and the slow cooker is off the hook. The brisket last night was delicious.
Yummy (even if the first bite does seem excessively sweet - the oats and walnuts quickly balance that, though).
Ooh - and the slow cooker is off the hook. The brisket last night was delicious.
13 January 2012
Slow Cooker Ultimatum
This is it for the slow cooker. We are having beef brisket in a tomato / jalapeño sauce and if it doesn't work out I'm never using the slow cooker again (except for the odd time we have Irish Stew). I find most things cooked it in come out tasting very similar. That could be the recipes I'm choosing, but I'm kind of bored with it's limitations and I'm sick to death of it's contrariness. No matter what I cook, or for how long, after a few hours water will seep around the rim of the lid and start to sputter and splatter all over the place. And that's not even the annoying part, the annoying part is that's the water that's keeping the food moist. So we end up with a mess to clean up and dry dinner. Seriously, slow cooker, it's your last chance.
We had salmon-fish cakes last night. They were delicious. I'm 100% convinced that anything that comes out of America's Test Kitchen (the people behind Cook's Illustrated) is amazing. I have 4 of their books now, and I'm starting to use them almost exclusively. I wish they had a slow-cooker recipe, I didn't notice one in the books.
Did I mention the fajitas we had the other night? From Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, they were delicious. I would have had the chicken on it's own with nothing else - just chicken. It was so yummy. The chicken was so good, in fact, that I ended up pulling it out of the wrap so that I could enjoy its flavour to the fullest.
I've stopped taking pictures of meals because it's kind of a lot of effort and I need a tripod that can work well with a table. That and I'm usually too hungry to wait the 2 minutes of photo-taking.
I did no work on my skirt today. I hoovered and that pretty much sapped any care I had to do anything else. And I've had this weird eye-socket-headache on and off for the past few days. It's annoying.
Anyway - bye.
We had salmon-fish cakes last night. They were delicious. I'm 100% convinced that anything that comes out of America's Test Kitchen (the people behind Cook's Illustrated) is amazing. I have 4 of their books now, and I'm starting to use them almost exclusively. I wish they had a slow-cooker recipe, I didn't notice one in the books.
Did I mention the fajitas we had the other night? From Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, they were delicious. I would have had the chicken on it's own with nothing else - just chicken. It was so yummy. The chicken was so good, in fact, that I ended up pulling it out of the wrap so that I could enjoy its flavour to the fullest.
I've stopped taking pictures of meals because it's kind of a lot of effort and I need a tripod that can work well with a table. That and I'm usually too hungry to wait the 2 minutes of photo-taking.
I did no work on my skirt today. I hoovered and that pretty much sapped any care I had to do anything else. And I've had this weird eye-socket-headache on and off for the past few days. It's annoying.
Anyway - bye.
12 January 2012
Domestication
I'm getting an inkling about myself and I'm not sure if it's something other people already know about themselves. I'm biased when it comes to things I've made for myself. All the cooking over the last month or so is making me realize this. I really, really love the food I cook. It's the most amazing food I've ever eaten. But I've come to the idea that if I got the same food from a restaurant, I wouldn't be so absolutely in love with it. Something about having worked for the food makes it taste better.
What really brought this home is the bread I baked yesterday. It's yummy out - a honey oat white bread. Slightly too dense and slightly too sweet, but I think it's delicious despite these flaws. If I'd bought this bread in a shop I'd probably buy it again, but only if there was nothing nicer there. And therein lies my bias. Do I judge myself easier or things in a shop / restaurant harder? Or does criticism just not come into the picture at all with the things I make? It's weird.
Anyway. Bread. Yummy. Will be making it again at some stage. Well - I might look out for a different oat bread recipe that uses less honey and more oats.
I've started the big sew-up of my skirt. It's turning out well. Though the ends are a bit weird. They turn in instead of out. Some ironing might be in order. I'll leave you with a picture of the material.
So cute.
I'm turning into a right little domestic lady, amn't I?
What really brought this home is the bread I baked yesterday. It's yummy out - a honey oat white bread. Slightly too dense and slightly too sweet, but I think it's delicious despite these flaws. If I'd bought this bread in a shop I'd probably buy it again, but only if there was nothing nicer there. And therein lies my bias. Do I judge myself easier or things in a shop / restaurant harder? Or does criticism just not come into the picture at all with the things I make? It's weird.
Anyway. Bread. Yummy. Will be making it again at some stage. Well - I might look out for a different oat bread recipe that uses less honey and more oats.
I've started the big sew-up of my skirt. It's turning out well. Though the ends are a bit weird. They turn in instead of out. Some ironing might be in order. I'll leave you with a picture of the material.
So cute.
I'm turning into a right little domestic lady, amn't I?
10 January 2012
Brand Loyalty
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I was reading this amazingly interesting article on how being motivated by a reward can kill that motivation and it reminded me of something I'd mentioned while out for dinner with some friends on Saturday night. It has nothing to do with motivation, but it does have to do with the way the mind works. It has to do with brand loyalty / recognition.
Living in America is very different to living in Ireland, systems are different, beliefs are different, roads are different, but even something simple like choosing a clothes washing liquid is different. Choosing something like clothes washing liquid is really difficult over here, and you know why - brand recognition. I have no idea what brand of washing is good. I picked washing because it's harder to choose than with food. With food, you look at the list of ingredients and you have an idea of how good the food will be. But with washing you have no idea. You don't know what different brands' claims to fame are. What one will get my clothes cleanest? What one will be gentle on colours? What one will smell nicest? You can look at price and go by that, or by the packaging, but they aren't really a guide. Price is variable and packaging is designed to be appealing.
So what to do? You pick one and hope for the best. And while you pick that one, you think back to how much easier buying this stuff is at home because you have all these brands floating around in your head. The brand you used at home might not be the best, but you believe it is, and that makes the decision easy. It's not really a decision at all.
Being out here just made me realise how much we take brands for granted - how comfortable they make us feel. They are a crutch to save us having to agonize over what product is best. Now, I know a lot of people will just pick the first product to hand, but I like to delude myself that I'm buying the best product out there, and I get uncomfortable when that delusion is shattered.
Anyway - all that said and done, I think I picked a good clothes washing liquid this time. Yeay.
Living in America is very different to living in Ireland, systems are different, beliefs are different, roads are different, but even something simple like choosing a clothes washing liquid is different. Choosing something like clothes washing liquid is really difficult over here, and you know why - brand recognition. I have no idea what brand of washing is good. I picked washing because it's harder to choose than with food. With food, you look at the list of ingredients and you have an idea of how good the food will be. But with washing you have no idea. You don't know what different brands' claims to fame are. What one will get my clothes cleanest? What one will be gentle on colours? What one will smell nicest? You can look at price and go by that, or by the packaging, but they aren't really a guide. Price is variable and packaging is designed to be appealing.
So what to do? You pick one and hope for the best. And while you pick that one, you think back to how much easier buying this stuff is at home because you have all these brands floating around in your head. The brand you used at home might not be the best, but you believe it is, and that makes the decision easy. It's not really a decision at all.
Being out here just made me realise how much we take brands for granted - how comfortable they make us feel. They are a crutch to save us having to agonize over what product is best. Now, I know a lot of people will just pick the first product to hand, but I like to delude myself that I'm buying the best product out there, and I get uncomfortable when that delusion is shattered.
Anyway - all that said and done, I think I picked a good clothes washing liquid this time. Yeay.
09 January 2012
For the Empire (Red)
I finally got my christmas / birthday present from mammy and daddy. It's a KitchenAid stand mixer and it looks so amazing. It's "empire" red, it looks like something beautiful straight out of some retro-future. I've not had a go of it yet because we defrosted the second loaf of ciabatta the same day we got it, so there was no need for bread.
This is it. So beautiful.
The ciabatta we had with lasagne I made from scratch. It was amazing. lordkilljoy insisted I make it again in the near future. We had a kind of pork ramen today. That was nice too - the sauce on the pork was delicious, but I put in slightly too much oil.
Not much else - I'm going playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (never finished it before) so I'll be fresh for Revelations.
This is it. So beautiful.
The ciabatta we had with lasagne I made from scratch. It was amazing. lordkilljoy insisted I make it again in the near future. We had a kind of pork ramen today. That was nice too - the sauce on the pork was delicious, but I put in slightly too much oil.
Not much else - I'm going playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (never finished it before) so I'll be fresh for Revelations.
05 January 2012
beets, om nom nom
Well, it's more a case of coconut milk - lemon sauce nom. But the beats played a big part in it. Confused? Right. So we had fish and beets for dinner today. I like beetroot but I've never cooked a whole one before. We were having it as a side with fish today and (wow - I'm really struggling with clear syntax today)... you know what. I have no idea where I was going with this.
To sum up - beetroot tossed in a little oil and vinegar then drizzled (or full on covered) with a coconut lemon curry sauce is absolutely delicious. It made the fish, which had been the original benefactor of the sauce - pale in comparison (puns, puns, puns). Little did I realise, however, that coconut milk is mostly just fat and was unable to finish my nom-delicious beets. Much to my disappointment. But I'll have it for lunch tomorrow :) yeay.
Emm, earlier in the day, when I'd been preparing the beets, I noticed all the leafy bits about to be thrown out. Well, I didn't so much notice them as want to do something productive with them. It's a little hard not to notice something that you've had to practically saw off a vegetable. Anyway... (again)
I cooked the leafs and ate them. They had a nice flavour. I think they'd work really well as a substitute for green beans or something equally questionable in a a stir fry or something. River enjoyed them too. I think she likes vegs more than fruit. I got bored of them kind of fast, though. Leafy greens and me have an odd relationship because I find them really weird to eat. Like I could never scoff them like I do with rice or something. I kind of nibble at them, taking my time to dissect the flavour, but then I get bored that the eating process is taking so long. And if I try to eat more in a bite I find I don't like it any more. Weird. It's something I'd have beside me and chew on the way someone else would do to nuts or something... but I can't do that because it would be gone cold. Boo.
I feel like my other icons aren't getting much use - all my posts these days are about food. Ah well. Food is good. Right so. Bye then.
To sum up - beetroot tossed in a little oil and vinegar then drizzled (or full on covered) with a coconut lemon curry sauce is absolutely delicious. It made the fish, which had been the original benefactor of the sauce - pale in comparison (puns, puns, puns). Little did I realise, however, that coconut milk is mostly just fat and was unable to finish my nom-delicious beets. Much to my disappointment. But I'll have it for lunch tomorrow :) yeay.
Emm, earlier in the day, when I'd been preparing the beets, I noticed all the leafy bits about to be thrown out. Well, I didn't so much notice them as want to do something productive with them. It's a little hard not to notice something that you've had to practically saw off a vegetable. Anyway... (again)
I cooked the leafs and ate them. They had a nice flavour. I think they'd work really well as a substitute for green beans or something equally questionable in a a stir fry or something. River enjoyed them too. I think she likes vegs more than fruit. I got bored of them kind of fast, though. Leafy greens and me have an odd relationship because I find them really weird to eat. Like I could never scoff them like I do with rice or something. I kind of nibble at them, taking my time to dissect the flavour, but then I get bored that the eating process is taking so long. And if I try to eat more in a bite I find I don't like it any more. Weird. It's something I'd have beside me and chew on the way someone else would do to nuts or something... but I can't do that because it would be gone cold. Boo.
I feel like my other icons aren't getting much use - all my posts these days are about food. Ah well. Food is good. Right so. Bye then.
03 January 2012
Now we're cooking with cream
For the first time ever I used a recipe with cream in it, and was it ever yummy. Yes it was. We had pasta bake with spicy italian sausage. It was pretty basic, but absolutely delicious. Something about sausage, tomatoes and cream (and pasta) just works.
I'm sewing a jacket from a pair of jeans at the moment. It's turning out quite well. I have everything done (arms sewn on, back darted into shape) except for the front. The shape of the material is a bit funky and I'm not quite sure how to make the front look good. It's all well and good if the sides and back look amazing, but if the front doesn't match, I'll never wear the thing. So I'm waiting for inspiration on that.
I don't have a lot of other news. I guess I forgot to say that my wedding dress arrived. It's beautiful. There's one small problem with it (some material got puckered by poor stitching) but I think it's fixable.
Right so. I'm off to play Star Wars: The Old Republic with lordkilljoy now. Later.
I'm sewing a jacket from a pair of jeans at the moment. It's turning out quite well. I have everything done (arms sewn on, back darted into shape) except for the front. The shape of the material is a bit funky and I'm not quite sure how to make the front look good. It's all well and good if the sides and back look amazing, but if the front doesn't match, I'll never wear the thing. So I'm waiting for inspiration on that.
I don't have a lot of other news. I guess I forgot to say that my wedding dress arrived. It's beautiful. There's one small problem with it (some material got puckered by poor stitching) but I think it's fixable.
Right so. I'm off to play Star Wars: The Old Republic with lordkilljoy now. Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)